Gyroscope

Scenarios, risks and opportunities of digital solutions in transition towards green and sustainable marine logistics
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GYROSCOPE investigates opportunities provided by and risks associated with smart digital solutions in the context of green transition of the maritime sector. Applying stakeholder-participatory processes and modern risk analytics, and considering alternative implementation pathways, the project produces a multidimensional picture of the sustainable digital transition to low-carbon maritime logistics.

Under the European and Finnish national climate objectives, novel digital solutions are introduced at a rapid pace in different sectors of the society. New smart concepts and services are claimed to have a significant role in introducing cleaner, safer, and more efficient operations. Putting new devices and instruments into operation by multiple actors across the operational environment may, however, increase the risk of both technical problems and human errors.

To ensure the sustainability of the green digital transition, it is important to also work proactively on identifying the potential risks the new digital solutions can – in interaction with each other, with the environment and with human operators – create to societies and ecosystems.

Acknowledging this, GYROSCOPE produces a comprehensive picture of sustainable transition to green and sustainable marine logistics in Finland, and potential policy pathways to achieve it. This will be realized by bringing together researchers, national authorities, and operational actors of the Finnish maritime cluster, to create collective future scenarios in a Digital Foresight Platform (DFP) constructed and tested in the project.

During the project, the DFP will be utilized to support alternative scenario building, risk identification, imagination of unforeseen events, evaluation of their controllability, and creative development of explorative policy pathways. In the long run, the approach is hypothesized to build competence and improved capability of the stakeholder community to (a) do collective scenario planning, (b) make sense of complex management problems and (c) perceive the short-term – long-term transitions as part of the planning processes.

GYROSCOPE executes and analyses the DFP approach in three analytical case contexts that are particularly relevant for marine logistics:
1) autonomous shipping
2) ship navigation in ice
3) alternative fuels

The case contexts reveal both features of the specific cases, and, when combined, open an overview to the key aspects of sustainable green transition, and on the driving role of digitalization in it.

Project funding

GYROSCOPE is funded by the Academy of Finland, under the 2022 call for research on key areas of green and digital transition. Its total budget is 2 million euros.

Partner organisations and principal investigators

University of Turku, Finland’s Futures Research Centre, Professor Toni Ahlqvist (project leader)
Kotka Maritime Research Association, Research Director, Annukka Lehikoinen (project vice-leader)
Aalto University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Assistant Professor Osiris Valdez Banda
University of Helsinki, Ecosystems and Environment Research Programme, Professor Sakari Kuikka
University of Helsinki, Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science, Professor Janne Hukkinen

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Project official homepage
#GYROSCOPEproject

The green transition in maritime transport requires systemic change

The Gyroscope project, funded by the Research Council of Finland, has now been running for two years. During this time, data has been collected from literature, interviews, and workshops. Additionally, researchers have participated in numerous national and international conferences where they have presented the project and their research. Several scientific articles are also either underway or already completed.

On 25th of November 2024, we organized an online mid-term seminar. All parties who supported the Gyroscope project during the application phase were invited, including representatives from public authorities and various interest groups. The purpose of the seminar was to present what has been accomplished so far, share plans, and receive comments and questions from stakeholders. The seminar was bilingual, with researchers presenting in either English or Finnish.

The seminar began with a brief introduction to the project by Project Leader Toni Ahlqvist from the Finland Futures Research Centre at the University of Turku. Following this, at least one researcher from each of the project’s five partners gave a presentation.

The program of the seminar was as follows:

  • Janne I. Hukkinen, University of Helsinki, Environmental Policy Research Group: Sustainability transformation in maritime fuels requires a transformation of the entire energy system
  • Sami Vikkula, University of Helsinki: Cost-benefit analysis of alternative fuels in the maritime industry (working title) and completion of previous articles
  • Patrik Kauppi and Emilia Luoma, Kotka Maritime Research Centre: Towards more sustainable shipping: Examining emission reduction measures and alternative fuels
  • Sunil Basnet and Raheleh Farokhi, Aalto University: Managing risks associated with the green transition: focusing on autonomous ship technologies and winter navigation
  • Ville Lauttamäki, University of Turku, Finland Futures Research Centre: Transition or transformation? – Observations on the sustainability shift in maritime transport

The seminar delved into topics such as how the sustainability transition of maritime fuels necessitates a transformation of the entire energy system. Achieving this requires systemic change and extensive cooperation across different sectors. Furthermore, achieving a truly sustainable green transition in maritime transport calls for a holistic approach that considers both economic, social, and ecological sustainability. Further, ecological sustainability must account for a broad range of environmental impacts to avoid merely shifting the burden from one area to another.

The seminar also highlighted how reports on the sustainability transition in maritime transport tend to focus narrowly on fuel transitions while overlooking broader systemic changes. It is crucial to critically examine whether we can sustainably produce enough new fuels to meet demand and whether achieving a genuinely sustainable green transition is possible without also reducing consumption.

Stakeholder representatives provided comments and posed questions during the seminar, which sparked valuable discussions. Topics such as the risks associated with the green transition and the need for a comprehensive perspective were of particular interest.

Text: Emilia Luoma

Presenting Research and Networking at the ICES Conference

The Annual Science Conference of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) was organized this year in Gateshead, England. ICES is an intergovernmental marine science organization with almost 6 000 scientists and 20 member countries. We Kotka Maritime Research Centre (KMRC) researchers Patrik Kauppi and Emilia Luoma attended the 4-day conference with a poster “Addressing biodiversity risks in the maritime sector: a focus on green transition” and an oral presentation “Balancing risks and opportunities between climate objectives and marine life: green maritime fuels as a case study”. The theme of the conference sessions was this year fishery oriented but especially the presentations considering maritime spatial planning were highly relevant to us KMRC researchers.

The conference started on Monday in somewhat rainy and chilly England. The venue was the International Centre for Music in Gateshead, also known as “the Glasshouse”. The opening ceremony of the first day was spectacular, featuring music performance and an inspiring keynote speech. The keynote was particularly suitable for us, as it emphasized interactivity and elaborated on the meanings of the terms multi-, inter-, and transdisciplinary. The terms that we are very closely linked to all the time. The researchers’ presentations during the conference were interesting to listen to, even though they mostly focused on fishing and fish stocks.  As maritime transport impacts marine ecosystems, it is beneficial to have some awareness of the status of fish populations. In the evenings, the conference allowed for a more relaxed atmosphere, including visits to the Newcastle United football team’s stadium and an art exhibition at the Biscuit Factory.

Luoma’s presentation was held in a very diverse theme session regarding scientific advances under ICES science plan. Her eight-minute presentation was based on the ongoing research in the Gyroscope project. The presentation underlined that since the use of green maritime fuels affects the whole marine transportation system, there is a need for systems understanding to make the transition sustainable. To address this issue in the project, workshops have been organized for experts with diverse backgrounds to discuss the potential risks and opportunities when different aspects of sustainability are considered.  Based on the discussions, causal networks have been drawn to visualize the key variables and the causalities between them. The aim of the study is to identify the factors on which the sustainability of solutions most critically depends on, and which should be prioritized. Although the work is still in progress, it is already evident that there is a need for a knowledge co-production of this kind.

Emilia Luoma presented the ongoing study in the GYROSCOPE project.

During the Tuesday evening poster session, Kauppi presented his research in a theme session that focused on accounting for climate change in Marine Spatial Planning (MSP). The poster highlighted emission reduction actions resulting from the green energy transition in maritime transport, which, however, have biodiversity impacts that are not yet adequately considered. Additionally, the integration of biodiversity mainstreaming into MSP was recommended. The session provided an excellent opportunity to discuss and network with other conference participants. Many researchers interested in the topic visited the poster, so there was hardly any time without discussion partners. The conversations were encouraging, as the topic was considered very important. Overall, the one-on-one discussions during the poster session were a highly positive experience, especially for a young researcher attending an international conference as a presenter for the first time.

Patrik Kauppi’s poster focused on the literature review of his doctoral dissertation.

Overall, nearly 800 researchers from around the world attended the ICES annual science conference, and we had the privilege of being part of this fantastic event. Following the presentations, engaging in discussions with various researchers, and taking advantage of networking opportunities enriched our understanding about the current state of the marine environment. As researchers at the KMRC, we can benefit from these insights by connecting them with our research topic regarding maritime transport.

Text by Patrik Kauppi and Emilia Luoma

Stakeholders’ perspectives on the sustainable development of marinas in the Gulf of Finland

A research article on the sustainable development of marinas, initiated in the 30MILES project coordinated by Kotka Maritime Research Association and funded by the Interreg Central Baltic Program and the Regional Council of Southwest Finland, was finalized in the Gyroscope project funded by the Research Council of Finland. The article has now been published in the Ocean & Coastal Management journal and has open access. In addition to researchers from the Kotka Maritime Research Association, the article’s authors include researchers from the University of Helsinki and the Finnish Environment Institute.

The starting point for the article was the assumption that making visible the different perspectives various stakeholders have on sustainable marina and on the actions needed to achieve it, can aid reaching a shared understanding and thus support the sustainable development of marinas. Individual boaters and marina operators were interviewed on how they define sustainable development and its goals within the marina context. Further, graphical, conceptual influence diagrams (CID) to visualize and structure the different ways individuals perceive the sustainability of marinas were constructed. The CID’s consist of the key variables and their causal interactions.

Based on the results of the article, the CID is a useful tool for analyzing and comparing stakeholders’ perceptions of sustainability. The method helps to identify the key variables and their potential conflicts. Furthermore, the article indicates that linguistic differences in terms of different concepts, for example, can cause misunderstandings between different people. Therefore, cooperation and co-learning among various stakeholders are necessary to create shared understanding. In addition, the three-pillar sustainability model can help interviewees widen their understanding about sustainability. Hence, we recommend its use when working with stakeholders in sustainability-related issues. Finally, the article proposes management implications that can support the sustainable development of both marinas and boating.

Text: Emilia Luoma

GYROSCOPE project studies digital solutions in the green transition of marine logistics

Kotka Maritime Research Centre (Merikotka) is strongly represented in a new research project GYROSCOPE. The project is funded by the Academy of Finland and has started in January 2023.

Under the 2022 call for research on key areas of green and digital transition, the Academy of Finland has granted a total of around 19 million euros of funding to projects that contribute broadly to the green and digital transition by developing new solutions to promote carbon neutrality and mitigate and adapt to climate change. The funding granted is based on the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland.

The total budget of the three-year project is over two million euros. The project investigates opportunities provided by and risks associated with smart digital solutions in the context of green transition of the maritime sector.

New smart concepts and services are claimed to have a significant role in cleaner, safer, and more efficient logistics. However, the introduction of new devices and instruments across the operating environment by multiple actors may increase the risk of both technical issues and human errors. To ensure the sustainability of the digital transition, it is therefore important to proactively identify potential risks that the new smart solutions may bring along.

GYROSCOPE produces a multidimensional picture of the sustainable digital transition to low-carbon maritime logistics by applying stakeholder-participatory processes and modern risk analytics, considering alternative implementation pathways. Through a sectoral example, the project aims to understand the nature and preconditions of sustainable green transition also more generally, as well as the development picture of digitalisation as part of it.

In the project consortium, Kotka Maritime Research Centre is represented by Research Director Annukka Lehikoinen and professors Osiris Valdez Banda from Aalto University and Sakari Kuikka from the University of Helsinki. The other principal investigators are Professor Janne Hukkinen from the University of Helsinki and the consortium leader, Professor Toni Ahlqvist from the Finland Futures Research Centre of the University of Turku.

 

The press release and funding decisions of the Academy of Finland

Written by: Annukka Lehikoinen
Annukka Lehikoinen Research Director +358 50 5519 288

Implementation time

1.1.2023 - 31.12.2025